Moon Petals
by VoicesOffCamera
Summary: What if it wasn't James and Lily? What if it was Remus and Lily? How would this change the course of history? A collection of one shots/drabbles for the Battleship Competition in the Diagon Alley II Forum.
1. First Encounter

**Author's Note:** Okay, people, bear with me on this. Romance is totally not my thing. So we'll just see how this goes! Please review and constructive crit is very welcome!

* * *

 _ **Moon Petals**_

 **Chapter One  
** **First Encounter**

" _Gryffindor_!"

Lily Evans jerked in surprise. The cheers from the strangers in the room seemed to fade into the background as she sat on the stool in shock. Severus had been so sure that she would be put in Slytherin, and even though she knew nothing about the Hogwarts Houses, somewhere along the line she had come to believe him.

"Miss Evans," came Professor McGonagall's soft, yet firm voice as it cut through the sound of applause. "Please take a seat with the rest of your housemates."

Lily nodded, doing her best to put on a brave face as she slipped off of the stool. She walked forward with her head held high, but couldn't help glancing back at the line of first years still waiting to be Sorted. She managed to catch Severus' eye for the briefest of moments. As much as he tried to hide it, she could see the disappointment in his features.

Only one other first year had been Sorted into Gryffindor so far, a boy with black hair that fell into his stormy grey eyes. He appeared a little uncomfortable for some reason, and as she approached he budged down the bench, giving her room to sit between him and the rest of their housemates. She gave him a shy smile as she climbed onto the bench and turned her attention back to the Sorting.

Lily clapped appropriately when other were Sorted into Gryffindor, but took little notice to anything else that was going on. She was waiting anxiously for Severus to be Sorted. She had always assumed he would stay with her throughout all of this and help her to understand this new society that she suddenly found herself in. She figured there was still a chance that Severus might get Sorted into the same House as her. Perhaps he would even ask the Hat to put him in the same House as her. After the row that she had with her sister before she left, she could really use a familiar face to help her through this.

Finally, Severus Snape was called for his Sorting. Lily sat up a little straighter as she watched him walk over to the stool and take a seat. He seemed to be concentrating very hard on something.

As the Hat was placed on his head, Lily barely had time to hope for one outcome or another before the Hat announced, " _Slytherin_!"

Lily felt her shoulders slump. She watched as Severus walked over to the Slytherin table, not even bothering to give her a glance. Suddenly she felt very alone.

The rest of the Sorting passed in a haze for Lily, and soon a great feast appeared out of thin air on the table in front of her. Lily should have been marveling at the idea of all of this food suddenly appearing before her, but she suddenly felt a little too sullen to be impressed. Everyone else around her was talking loudly and loading up their plates, but Lily just sat there, staring at her own empty plate.

"Aren't you hungry?"

Lily looked up at the sound of the soft, curious voice. The boy sitting next to her was looking at her expectedly. She gave a start as she realized that it wasn't the original boy who had been sitting next to her, but a different first year who had been Sorted later in the ceremony. The other boy must have budged father down at some point. This boy had light brown hair that boarded on a sandy blonde color and dark brown eyes that had bags under them as if he hadn't slept very well in several nights. He was a terribly thin thing, looking almost sickly in pallor. Even so, he had a very kind look about him, and when he smiled Lily felt herself relax a bit.

"Yes, sorry," she said, not really sure why she felt the need to apologize. "I was just a bit… distracted."

The boy only nodded at this. He held out the serving plate that he had been helping himself from. "Do you like chicken?"

"It's my favorite," Lily said with a small smile. She picked up her fork and chose one of the smaller pieces from the plate. Her stomach was still unsettled with nerves. The two fell silent amongst the roar of the rest of the students for a few minutes as Lily began to pick at her food. "Did you get Sorted into the House you were hoping for?" she suddenly asked, looking at her neighbor.

The boy shrugged as he took a moment to chew and swallow the bite he had just taken. "I wasn't too worried about which House I would be put in," he admitted. "I'm just… happy to be here at all." There was something a bit strained about the way he said it. Lily was about to ask about that, but he spoke again before she could. "Are you not happy to be in Gryffindor?"

"No, it's not that," Lily said. "It's just my friend was Sorted into a different House." She sent a glance over her shoulder toward the Slytherin table. She could just spot Severus' small form sitting with his back toward her. "I was hoping that we'd get to stay together, that's all."

"Well, I'm sure you'll still get to see plenty of your friend," the boy assured her with a comforting smile. "We'll have classes with the other Houses and free time as well."

"I suppose you're right," Lily admitted. She paused before going on. "I'm just nervous because this is all new to me. Both my parents… they're Muggles, you see? So I was really hoping that I'd have my friend around to help me." She felt a little insecure admitting that her parents were Muggles. Severus always seemed to insinuate that this was some kind of disadvantage.

Surprisingly, though, the boy smiled knowingly at her. "I know what you mean," he said. "I'm a half-blood myself. My mum is a Muggle. Even though my dad is a wizard, I feel like I know more about Muggle things than wizard things. Mum always likes doing things the Muggle way."

"Oh!" Lily said as she felt relief wash over her at this. Perhaps she wasn't so odd in this place after all. "I'm glad I won't be the only one new to this then." She paused. "I'm Lily, by the way. Lily Evans."

"It's nice to meet you, Lily," the boy said, looking truly pleased to have been offered her name. "My name is Remus Lupin."

For the rest of the feast, Lily chatted pleasantly with Remus, feeling her anxiety fading as she realized that she didn't have to be dependent on Severus. By the time the Gryffindor Prefect came to collect them and show them where their dormitories were, Lily was smiling and laughing and had forgotten all about any worries she had when she had boarded the train that morning. For once in her life she felt as if she fit in. She was happy.


	2. Slice of Life

**Chapter Two**

 **Slice of Life**

The sound of books falling heavily on the table startled Remus out of his concentration. He looked up to see a certain redhead slipping gracefully into the seat across from him, pointedly ignoring the dirty look the librarian was giving her.

Remus couldn't help but smile at the annoyed look on his friend's face, already knowing what was coming. "Something troubling you, Lily?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I don't see how you can share a dormitory with _them_ for the past five years and not have completely lost your mind," Lily huffed as she began sorting through her textbooks.

Remus chuckled lightly to himself as he dropped his eyes back down to his Potions textbook, trying to hide his amusement. "What did James and Sirius do this time?"

"They somehow managed to set off dungbombs in all of the girls lavatories at the same time," Lily told him matter-of-factly.

"Are you sure it was them?" Remus asked, doing his best to make it sound like an innocent inquiry. In fact, he had already heard this story from James, Sirius and Peter's point of view in detail the night before.

"Oh, it was them, all right," Lily said confidently. "We couldn't prove it, but you should have seen the looks on their faces. And then Potter had the audacity to try and _flirt_ with me to try and get me to lay off. Like I'd ever be even vaguely interested in that prat."

Remus' felt a strange, contracting pain within his chest at the mention of James flirting with Lily. It wasn't as if he had no idea about James' feelings for Lily. But every time it became obvious, Remus found himself feeling uncomfortable. He hated this feeling. He tried to tell himself that James' flirting only bothered him because Lily clearly didn't reciprocate his feelings. He was obviously getting on the poor girl's nerves. But even he had a hard time believing himself.

He took a deep breath, trying to push away any confusing feelings that he had on the matter. "Oh," was all he managed to say.

Thankfully, Lily didn't seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary as she pulled her notes out of her bag. Instead she continued to speak, and what she said next caused his heart to stop in his chest.

"I swear, they get worse when you're not around."

He could feel his cheeks grow hot the way they did when anyone casually mentioned his disappearances. It seemed so much worse when it was Lily though, as his stomach turned almost violently. The idea of Lily Evans knowing what he turned into once a month was always terrifying for him. Over the past five years, they had become close friends and he wasn't sure how he could handle her inevitable rejection if she ever found out.

"My mum was ill," he mumbled, automatically offering up an excuse for his absence, his eyes carefully trained on James' Potions notes he had let him borrow. "I went home to see her."

"I know," Lily said gently. There was something oddly sympathetic in her tone, something that seemed to go beyond what was necessary for an ill mother. Suddenly she abandoned her seat as she came around the table to take the seat next to him, looking at the parchment in front of him. "Are those Potter's notes?"

Remus was a little started by the sudden change of subject. He had gotten the distinct sense that she had wanted to say something more about his absence, but apparently she had changed her mind.

He nodded at her question. "Yes, they're his Potions notes. He let me borrow them since I missed class."

Lily shook her head and clicked her tongue in disapproval as she looked over James' messy notes. Then she smiled at him as she nudged him lightly with her shoulder. Remus felt a calming warmth spreading through him at the casual contact. "It will take you ages to decipher these. Would you like to look at my notes?"

"Yes, that would help," Remus admitted as he stole a glance at the pretty girl that was now sitting unnecessarily close to him. "James means well, but his handwriting leaves a lot to be desired."

Lily snorted as she reached across the table to pull her notes over to them. "James Potter? Mean well? They've got you brainwashed in that dormitory, Remus."

Even as she said it, though, she shot Remus that infectious smile that he couldn't help but reciprocate. They quickly fell into their usual studying routine, something they had both become comfortable with over the years. Sitting and talking with Lily was as easy as breathing for Remus. Yet these days he felt himself becoming more aware of her presence, especially when she was in close proximity. He found himself noting the way she smiled at him, noting the way she made more physical contact with him than she used to – whether it was a touch on his forearm or a gentle nudge of her shoulder. Something about them had changed somewhere along the line, and he found that he wasn't quite sure he knew when it had happened.

But, despite the way he felt himself yearning for her presence more and more, he knew that this was as far as this could ever go. For who in their right mind could ever really love a werewolf?


	3. First Date

**Chapter Three**

 **First Date**

"Would you stop fidgeting? This isn't weird. Right?"

Remus looked across the table and gave Lily a sheepish smile. "It's a little weird," he pointed out.

Lily frowned at that as she cupped the Butterbeer in front of her. "No, it's not," she insisted stubbornly. "We've met up on Hogsmeade trips before."

"Yes, but as you so bluntly pointed out earlier, this is under wildly different circumstances," Remus said, raising his eyebrows at her.

Earlier that day, while they had been loitering in the common room waiting until they would be allowed to go to Hogsmeade Village, Lily had marched up to him and announced that she wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him. Remus had smiled and told her that she was welcome to join him and the rest of the Marauders at Honeydukes and Zonkos, but Lily had immediately rejected that.

"No, I mean I want to go with _just_ you to Hogsmeade," she had told him. For a moment he had just stared at her, not quite understanding. She had sighed heavily before she went on. "On a _date_."

Remus had been taken completely off guard by this, sputtering incoherently as his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. It was only with Sirius' encouragement – along with his promise to keep James away from the Three Broomsticks – that Remus had agreed.

Lily smiled at him from across the table. "Well, I wouldn't have to be so blunt about it if you could just take a hint," she said with an exaggerated amount of exasperation.

"I just… I figured that since you went on a date with James…" Remus said slowly, thinking back to several weeks ago when Lily had finally agreed to go on a date with James, surprising all of them, even James. It had been then that Remus had decided that he would never have a chance with a girl like Lily Evans.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't even get me started on that disaster."

Remus looked over at her curiously at that. "Disaster?" he prompted. Strangely, James hadn't said much of anything on the subject after he returned from the date and Remus hadn't been able to bring himself to ask, as much as he had wanted to.

"Trust me, Potter didn't enjoy it any more than I did," Lily said with a sigh. "He's always idealized me. I knew I was never going to be able to live up to his expectations. I knew it would never work between us."

Remus looked at her curiously. "So, why did you agree to go on a date with him at all?" he asked, feeling confused.

Lily's eyes fell back down to study her Butterbeer. "Well… I did it for you," she said quietly.

At this, Remus gave a start. "What?"

"You're a good friend, Remus," she said, stealing a glance up at him. "I knew that you'd never agree to go on a date with me if you thought you'd be betraying Potter. I knew I had to at least give him a chance before you'd even consider it."

Remus was now openly staring at the girl in front of him, hardly able to comprehend what she was saying. In his six years at Hogwarts, he had felt like he lived in Sirius and James' shadows. The idea that it had been him that Lily had wanted all along had never even crossed his mind.

"I suppose you think I'm a terrible person," Lily murmured.

Remus furrowed his brow, still struggling to come to terms with what was happening. "Why would I think that?"

"For using your friend just to get to you," Lily said, smiling shyly at him. Remus couldn't help but laugh at that. Lily looked surprised at the reaction. "What?" she demanded.

"Just the idea of someone using _James_ to get to _me_ ," Remus said.

"Why is that funny?" Lily asked.

"It's just… James is a much better person that I am," Remus said, sobering a bit at this admission. Seeing as he himself was only a "person" for twenty-eight out of every twenty-nine days, he knew that this set the bar pretty low.

Lily looked pained at this. "Not to me," she said, with so much sincerity it took Remus' breath away. "Forget about Potter for a minute and tell me honestly… what is it _you_ want, Remus?"

Remus seriously considered this for a long minute. Finally he stood up, and Lily looked up at him with worry and hurt in her eyes, obviously assuming he was about to walk away. But instead he moved around the table and slid into the seat next to her.

"Lily," he started, doing his best to give her a charming smile. He reached over and gently took her hand. "I wonder if you might like to go out on a date with me."

Lily smiled widely at that. "Remus Lupin, I thought you'd never ask."


	4. First Kiss

**Chapter Four**

 **First Kiss**

" _You have to tell her eventually."_

" _She'll figure it out soon enough, even if you don't tell her."_

" _This is Lily, we're talking about. She's not going to care."_

His friends' words came carefully floating back to him as he slowly started drifting back to consciousness. He felt short of breath, like he was trying to breathe through a straw. His entire body ached, his muscles screaming in agonizing protest with each miniscule movement. He let out a low, miserable moan that seemed to drag it's way up out of his dry throat.

"Easy, Moony," came a soothing voice. "Just hang in there. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will be here soon."

Confused, Remus squinted his eyes open. With an effort he blinked away the blurriness, bringing the familiarity of the Shrieking Shack into focus. Mercifully, a cloak had been draped modestly over him.

What really got his attention, though, was the three figures – one huddled over him and two others sitting back a ways – in the room with him. Ever since James, Sirius and Peter had become illegal Animagus in order to accompany him during his monthly transformation, they had always been gone before he woke up in the morning so as to not risk being caught by Madam Pomfrey.

"What…?" he murmured.

James started to reach out, as if he were going to touch his shoulder, but then seemed to think better of it. "We couldn't leave you just yet," he said, answering Remus' unasked question. "We wanted to make sure you were still with us when Madam Pomfrey gets here."

Remus' furrowed his brow, still confused. Then he took in James' appearance. He looked more ragged than he usually did. It was the first indication that something was off. There was blood on his sleeve. Remus found himself focusing on that. Whose blood was it?

Almost as if Remus had spoken his question out loud, James answered. "Don't worry about this," he said, making a dismissive gesture toward his arm. "It's just a scratch."

"The wolf was a bit… enthusiastic last night," came Sirius' voice, dry humor in his tone.

Drawn by the sound, Remus' eyes wandered to where he sat with Peter. As his gaze rested on his friend, his eyes widened in horror. Sirius was sitting with his back up against the wall, shirtless with his cloak draped over his shoulders. The reason he wasn't wearing a shirt became immediately obvious. He had the fabric balled up in one hand and was pressing it up against one side of his forehead. The white fabric of the dress shirt that was part of their school uniform was stained with blood.

"Sirius?" Remus croaked.

"It's not as bad as it looks, mate," Sirius assured him with a lopsided grin. "Head wounds always bleed a lot."

"Yeah, especially when they're gaping head wounds," Peter pointed out from where he sat next to him, eyeing him uncertainly.

Sirius waved a hand in dismissal.

"All joking and head wounds aside," James said, "you really do need to talk to Lily about your furry little problem before the next full moon, mate. The wolf was clearly agitated last night. You know that your stress translates to a more violent wolf."

"I'm sorry," Remus murmured, closing his eyes for a moment, feeling guilt spreading through him.

James frowned at him. "I just don't like seeing you put yourself through all this for nothing. Mark my words, Lily isn't going to care that you turn into a werewolf once a month. She'll take it in stride and you'll both be better off."

This had been the debate of the Marauders dorm for the past week: whether to tell Lily about Remus' "furry little problem." The two of them had been on several successful dates over the course of the past month, but Remus still felt terrified that he was going to ruin the whole thing when she found out what he was. The stress of this decision had clearly agitated the wolf last night and not only was he worse for the wear, but he had hurt one of his friends in the process. He knew that James was right. He knew he had to unburden his conscious before the next full moon. In any case, it wasn't fair to let Lily go along thinking that he was a perfectly normal, human boy when that was so far from reality.

Suddenly there was a noise coming from the other side of the room.

"We'll see you in a little bit," James said with a reassuring smile. Then he was on his feet, running over to Sirius in order to help Peter get him onto his feet and a second later the three had disappeared into another room.

Not half a second after they disappeared, Madam Pomfrey was climbing up through the trap door. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Remus," she said as she hustled over to him. "I was held up with another patient. Now let's see to you, shall we?"

Madam Pomfrey went about her usual routine of cataloguing his injuries. Remus let his mind drift, not caring to pay much attention. He knew from experience that it could have been a lot worse had his friends not been with him last night to try to keep him in check.

The matron patched up most of his smaller injuries there in the Shack before conjuring a stretcher and levitating him onto it. She would take care of the rest of his injuries back in the Hospital Wing. His shoulder and collar bone had both been shattered and he had several particularly deep scratches along his side that would need her supplies from the Wing in order to see to.

Only a few minutes after they arrived back in the Hospital Wing, James, Sirius and Peter showed up with a story about how Sirius fell out of bed and hit his head on his bedside table. Madam Pomfrey clearly didn't believe this story – which wasn't surprising considering the other Marauders hadn't even bothered to try and change into more believable sleepwear – but thankfully she didn't push the matter. She was used to the Marauders coming to her Wing under odd circumstances. Instead she set Sirius up in the bed next to Remus and pulled curtains around both beds, sealing them off from the rest of the Wing.

Sirius' injury was easy enough for the matron to take care of, but then she insisted that he stay in bed until she could determine whether or not he had a concussion. Remus' injuries took much longer to put right. By the time Madam Pomfrey was finished, Remus was exhausted and drifting in and out of consciousness.

The sound of soft voices floated around him, and he allowed these to comfort him as it was proof his friends were near. As he was coming back to consciousness an indeterminable amount of time later, a distinctly feminine voice reached his ears. At first he assumed that it was Madam Pomfrey. But soon he began to recognize the voice. His stomach fell as he pried his eyes open and looked around for the source. It didn't take him long to spot Lily Evans standing next to his bed, looking down at him with concern.

"Lily?" he said, shock in his voice. He did have every intention of telling her the truth about him, but not now, not like this. "Lily, I…" His mind couldn't come up with a coherent excuse for his current appearance.

"It's okay, Remus," Lily said with a smile. "I know I'm not supposed to be here, but when I didn't see Potter, Black and Peter at breakfast I got worried. I just had to make sure you were okay."

"I… I…" Remus stuttered, still trying to come up with some sort of explanation. "You see, what happened was…"

To Remus' surprise, Lily laughed lightly. "Take a deep breath, Remus. I already know."

"You… know?" Remus said. He shot an accusatory look at James and Peter, who sat between the two beds, and even Sirius would was now sitting up in his bed.

James held up his hands in a defensive manner. "Don't look at us, we didn't say anything."

Lily shook her head. "They didn't," she confirmed. "I figured it out on my own."

"How long have you known?" Remus asked.

Lily smiled sheepishly. "Since last year. We had that question about identifying werewolves on our O.W.L.s and it just… clicked."

Remus swallowed. "I… I'm sorry I never told you," he said in a small voice. "I was afraid of what you'd think of me."

Lily carefully perched on the edge of Remus' hospital bed, reaching over and gently taking his hand. "Remus, this changes nothing, I hope you know that. I've known all along what I was getting into. I just wanted to wait until you were ready to tell me."

And just like that, it was like the weight of the world had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Maybe next time you could just put the poor bloke out of his misery," Sirius pointed out, though he looked far from cross at this development. "Save some innocent bystanders from getting on the wrong side of his pent up stress over the matter."

But Lily and Remus barely heard him. Remus was looking up into her stunningly green eyes, marveling at the idea that he was lucky enough to have a girl like her. Not only was she so beautiful it made his heart ache, but she was clearly sincere when she said his condition didn't change anything.

He gently tugged her toward him, and she happily obliged. She leaned over and very carefully, her lips met his, and the rest of the world seemed to melt away. He felt so terribly human in that moment. And he couldn't be happier.


	5. Meeting the Parent

**Author's Note:** Ack, so full disclosure, I struggled a lot with the prompt for this chapter. It just didn't flow well for me and I'm not terribly satisfied with this chapter. That being said, those following along, please stick with me! I've got a good portion of the rest of the prompts written and it'll pick up again in the next chapter, I promise!

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 **Chapter Five  
Meeting the Parent**

"Please, let me help," Lily insisted as she got up from where she sat at the small kitchen table.

Remus watched her go with a smile, grateful that she was so eager to help out his mother. He would have liked to help out himself, but it was only a few days after his most recent transformation and he was still sore and tired and knew his mother would never stand for him exerting himself too much.

"Oh no, you are my guest!" Mrs. Lupin told her with a tired smile.

"I don't mind," Lily said as she rolled up her sleeves. "I enjoy cooking. What can I do to help?"

"Why, thank you, dear heart," Mrs. Lupin said. "That's very kind of you. Would you mind terribly pealing the potatoes?"

"Not at all!" Lily agreed enthusiastically.

"How sweet of you," Mrs. Lupin told her. She turned to look at where Remus sat at the kitchen table and spoke in a stage whisper. "She's a keeper, love."

Remus blushed. "Very subtle, mum," he mumbled as he dropped his head into his hands in exaggerated embarrassment.

"Oh, hush," Mrs. Lupin said with a smile. "It's about time you brought a nice girl home for a change. Not that I don't appreciate the boys, of course, love." She laughed lightly.

"I can't imagine James Potter offering to help with dinner," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh no, that would be Sirius," Mrs. Lupin said matter-of-factly. Lily gave a start at that. "He's always very… enthusiastic about helping out with the cooking."

Lily almost dropped the potato she was working on as she looked to Remus for confirmation. "Sirius? Sirius _Black_? Likes to _cook_?"

Remus gave her a wry smile. "He likes doing anything the Muggle way. He's fascinated by it."

"I never would have guessed that," Lily laughed as she turned back to the task at hand. "I'll have to remember that. I'm sure it'll come in handy to hold over him when we're back at school."

Remus didn't miss the mischievous look in her eyes. His friends were rubbing off on her. It was a relief that they were getting along so well though and he liked that Lily now seemed to effortlessly fit in with his group of friends. When he and Lily first started dating, there was a bit a tension caused by the idea that James had had a crush on Lily for years. Thankfully, though, things all seemed to be falling into their places.

"They really are good boys," Mrs. Lupin went on. She suddenly seemed lost in her own thoughts. "They've been ever so helpful over the summer holidays with Remus'…" Her train of thought trailed off as she sent Remus an unsure look.

"It's okay, mum," he assured her. "She knows."

At that, his mother's face seemed to light up, something he hadn't seen in a very long time. She looked over at Lily, giving her a painfully grateful look. Clearly she was so relieved that someone could look past Remus' lycanthropy. Lily had busied herself with peeling the potatoes, blushing slightly as if she were intruding on a private moment.

"The boys have been a huge help with helping me manage Remus' condition," she went on. "Without Remus' father I wasn't sure what I was going to do…"

Remus swallowed painfully. It had been about a year since his father had passed away of a heart condition. This had been devastating for their family in so many ways. Remus was so thankful to his friends for stepping up like they had. After his father passed, James, Sirius and Peter had made it a point to come to his house the night of the full moon while he was home over the summer holidays. Not only did they help secure him in the basement, but – unbeknownst to his mother – they also accompanied him in their Animagus forms in order to make the transformations more bearable.

It was a burden off of his shoulders knowing that his poor mother wouldn't have to deal with his summer transformations alone. Not just for her state of mind, but because she is a Muggle she can't charm the basement to contain a werewolf like his father always used to do.

"Yes, I suppose in essence they are good boys," Lily agreed with a kind smile. She smiled back at Remus and he was able to see the sincerity in her eyes. "I'm very grateful they are able to help Remus so much."

Her tone was heavy with a meaning that only Remus understood. She had recently discovered the Marauders' biggest secret. Just at the end of this past school year, she had confronted James, Sirius and Peter about their whereabouts during every full moon. After a lot of hemming and hawing, they had finally come clean to her about being illegal Animagi so that they could accompany Remus during his monthly transformations. Strangely, she had seemed more shocked of this revelation than she had when she found out that Remus was a werewolf.

At first she hadn't approved. She lectured the three about the dangers of the Animagus transformations – as if they didn't already know, having had several close calls while they had been attempting the feat – and she demanded that they come clean to Professor McGonagall so that they could at least be registered. However, after Remus had sat her down and explained to her how much easier they made his transformations for him and how if Professor McGonagall found out she would likely put a stop to such escapades, she had finally come around to accepting it.

Lily and Mrs. Lupin managed to put together a nice meal for the three of them. Remus set the table and they all sat down together to eat. Remus was pretty quiet during the meal, preferring to watch Lily and his mother interact. It had been a really tough year for his mother after his father had passed. But watching her chat with Lily, he could see some of the light come back in her eyes. Lily just had this way about her that just soothed the souls of the people around him, especially the troubled ones. He should know.

Lily and Remus would be going into their seventh and final year of Hogwarts in just a few short months. The two of them hadn't even been going out for a whole year yet. Even so, in that moment Remus felt deep down that this was the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.


	6. The Wedding

**Chapter Six  
The Wedding**

"Poor Moony, he looks like he's about to faint!" James laughed. "You need to relax, mate. You're just shackling yourself to one woman for the rest of your life. It's nothing to get worked up over."

Remus glared at James, who didn't notice because he was still fidgeting with his Muggle tuxedo while looking in the mirror, fascinated by the garment. "Easy for you to say," he grumbled.

He never would have guessed that he would be the first of the Marauders to get married. Heck, he never would have guessed someone would want to marry someone like him. But somehow it had happened, and he found himself to be more nervous than he thought he'd be. He'd never really been comfortable being the center of attention.

"Little nip to take the edge off?" Sirius asked causally as he slid a flask out of the inside pocket of his jacket.

He was lounging sideways in an overstuffed armchair with his feet hanging over one of the arms. He looked much more comfortable than James in his Muggle clothing, as he had been wearing Muggle clothes in rebellion from his pureblooded family since he was about fourteen. He had been ecstatic to learn that Remus and Lily had decided to incorporate many Muggle traditions into their wedding alongside the wizarding traditions.

Remus shook his head. "No," he said calmly. "Remember what Lily said? No drinking before the ceremony or else." He looked at Sirius pointedly.

"You can't start off your marriage by letting her boss you around!" Sirius pointed out as he unscrewed the cap. "Sets a bad precedent! You need to take charge, Moony!"

"A bit late for that, I'm afraid," James laughed. "We all know who calls the shots in that relationship." He elbowed Remus good-naturedly.

Sirius took a swig from the flask and barked a laugh. "After Evans was the one who asked him out and initiated the first kiss and the first… well _you know_ ," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "I'm just so proud that Moony here managed to pop the question before Evans did it herself!"

Remus glared at his friend before he skillfully managed to swipe the flask from Sirius' grasp, a well-practiced motion. "How's this for taking charge?" he said with an amused smile as he screwed the cap back on. "You'll get this back after the ceremony." He tucked the flask into his own jacket pocket.

"You're no fun," Sirius pouted, though it was clear he wasn't really upset over the matter.

"Uh, guys? I think I did this wrong."

They all turned to see Peter coming in to the room and they simultaneously burst into laughter. Peter had done fine with the pants and the dress shirt, but his waistcoat was upside down and backwards, the jacket was upside down with the coattails hanging over his shoulders and the bow tie had been done in the same manner that someone would tie shoestrings.

"I'm sorry, Peter," Remus said, trying to contain his laughter as he observed the way his friend flushed with embarrassment. "I should have realized you'd need some guidance." It was only as an afterthought that he realized all his friends were pureblooded.

"I will pay you any money to let him walk down the aisle like that," James laughed.

"You're one to talk, Prongs," Sirius pointed out, an amused grin on his face. "You didn't do much better."

"I didn't do _that_ bad!" James shot back, with feigned hurt in his features. "I at least had the jacket the right side up!"

"Sirius, could you please just help him fix it," Remus pleaded, his composure barely holding on.

"Yes sir, Mr. Groom, sir," Sirius said with a lazy salute. He pushed himself up into a more upright sitting position before standing and stretching. "Alright, Wormtail. Take off the bow tie, the jacket and the waistcoat and let's try again, shall we?"

Peter hurried to comply. "I'm not used to Muggle clothing," he mumbled grudgingly.

"Don't worry, Peter," Remus tried to assure him. "James struggled as well."

James rolled his eyes but thankfully didn't push the issue, as he himself had needed guidance with his own waistcoat and bowtie.

Thankfully it didn't take Sirius long to put Peter right, and there was the added bonus that Sirius didn't give Peter too much grief about it. In truth, Remus knew that he enjoyed helping out with Muggle things and even took extra pride in being able to tie the bowties without magic.

"Do I need to be worried about your speech?" Remus questioned James, who was his best man in the ceremony.

James gave him an exaggerated surprised look that told Remus he knew exactly what he was talking about. "Worried? Why would you need to be worried?"

Remus sighed. "Let me put it this way," he amended carefully, though a smile was still playing at his lips. "How many thinly veiled wolf jokes do you make in your speech?"

James grinned mischievously. "It's very tasteful, I assure you, Moony."

"I haven't heard it," Sirius spoke up distractedly as he was still fussing over the finishing touches on Peter's bowtie. "But if you think there's less than a dozen then you don't know Prongs at all."

Remus sighed but couldn't help but smile. "Just try and keep it in check," he said.

"Relax, Moony," James said, clapping him on the shoulder. "It's your day. It's all going to be fine! Now take a deep breath and let's get this shindig going!"

Soon enough it was time for the ceremony. They were having a small ceremony in the small back garden at Remus' mother's house. Neither Remus nor Lily had much in the way of family – Lily's side diminished even more when her sister refused to show up – and in the middle of this war they fought against a dark wizard known as Voldemort, they only had a handful of trusted friends each.

As Remus stood at the end of the aisle he couldn't help but shift uncomfortably as all eyes seemed to be on him. James was already standing next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. Remus glanced at him, catching his laid back smile. He wished he could be that relaxed. He refocused on the aisle. Sirius came down the aisle with Lily's friend Marlene. Next came Peter, escorting Lily's friend Mary. Remus took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

And then Lily appeared.

She was wearing a long, flowing white dress, making her red hair seem brighter than ever. Her green eyes met Remus' as she started up the aisle. And suddenly all his nerves vanished. He hadn't even noticed that all eyes had turned away from him at the appearance of the bride. None of that mattered in that moment.

Today he was marrying the love of his life, a beautiful, kind woman who showed him more love and compassion than he ever thought he would deserve. And most importantly she had made him see the good within himself. She made him feel… human. He had no idea how he had gotten so lucky, but he knew one thing without a doubt: he would spend the rest of his life making sure she knew how much she meant to him.


	7. Anniversary

**Chapter Seven**

 **Anniversary**

The house was quiet. Lily was never a big fan of the quiet, especially on these nights. Although deep down, she knew that the quiet was better than the alternative.

She pulled the blanket around her shoulders a little tighter as her eyes wandered back to the window, adjusting her position on the couch so that she'd have a better view. It was a clear night and she had been carefully watching the sky for hours now. The full moon was finally beginning to fall below the horizon. It wouldn't be much longer now.

Lily never got much sleep on the night of the full moon, no matter how much her husband insisted that she needn't worry about him. She was always anxious on these nights and would be lucky to get a few hours rest. She wondered if this was something that she would ever get able to get used to. The only comfort she could take was that neither of them had to do this on their own.

She reflected on the rocky history she had with Remus' friends back in school. For years she hadn't been able to stand being around James Potter or Sirius Black. It was amazing how things had changed. These days she was so grateful to them along with Peter as well. The three of them were like brothers to her as much as they were to Remus. No matter what, at least one of them was here every full moon to help Remus with his transformation. Lily was so grateful that she didn't have to shoulder this burden on her own.

Remus' lycanthropy had been a bit of a shock when she had first worked it out, but it had never affected her opinion of him. Even so, the whole thing was a lot for any one person to handle. So it was nice that all of them supported each other and did what needed to be done in order to make this as easy as possible for Remus.

They had secured the basement for Remus' transformations. It was a large basement, a big reason they had chosen this house was because of that. There was room enough to a full-grown werewolf to have room to stretch his legs along with his dog, stag and rat friends. Every full moon, Lily would ward the basement door, locking Remus' brothers in with what many agreed to be a dangerous and unpredictable creature. It was always a bit of an odd feeling.

Not for the first time, she wondered what it was like to be an Animagus. As much as she hadn't approved of James, Sirius and Peter trying to perform this dangerous magic when they were still in school, she was also in awe that they had actually managed to be successful. She also knew just how much they were able to help Remus during his transformations in their Animagus forms. Once, a few months ago, Sirius and James had both been injured in a battle against a handful of Death Eaters just before the full moon. There injuries hadn't been terrible serious, but it had been enough that they hadn't been able to complete their Animagus transformations. That full moon, Lily had seen just how gruesome the aftermath could be. It wasn't something she was eager to relive.

There were times that Lily had considered becoming an Animagus herself. She knew that James and Sirius would eagerly help her do it if she asked them to. She had almost asked them on several occasions, but always lost her nerve at the last second, changing the subject awkwardly that in no way disguised the fact that she had done so.

Lily couldn't bear to admit this to her husband, but she was afraid to ever witness his transformation. It wasn't that she was afraid of the werewolf itself. She knew from accounts from Remus' friends that the wolf could actually be quite tame in the presence of his animal friends (although the routine was not without its slipups, as every so often one of the other Marauders would also need some medical attention after spending the full moon with the werewolf).

No, it wasn't the werewolf itself that frightened her.

When Lily had first worked out what his friends referred to as his "furry little problem," she had done the only thing that had made sense to her: she had gone to the library and researched werewolves. She had come across a very detailed description of the transformation process. It had horrified her. The transformation from human to werewolf was a terribly painful process, with the human awake and aware until the transformation was complete. She wasn't sure she was strong enough to watch the person she loved most in the world go through something like that, powerless to stop it or ease his pain.

Finally, at long last, Lily watched the moon disappearing down under the horizon. The werewolf in her basement would be turning back into her husband. Lily was on her feet in an instant, already making her way over to the basement door. As she approached she waited though, knowing the boys would need a few minutes to get Remus situated after he completed his transformation.

Lily bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as she waited just outside the basement door. Finally she took out her wand and took off the silencing charm – something she had only confided in Marlene that she cast every full moon – before removing the rest of the wards meant to keep in the full-grown werewolf.

She eased the door open and peered down into the darkness of the underground level. For a minute, everything was still. Then, slowly, voices floating up to meet her.

"Can you make it, Moony? I can levitate you if you want." James' voice.

Her husband replied, his voice quiet and raspy. "I can make it."

Lily felt her heart lifting up in her chest. It was a good sign that he was still conscious. She waved her wand, bringing up the lights in the stairway. The scene that was illuminated was one that she knew well. James had one of Remus' arms slung over his shoulder to support him while Remus' other hand skimmed along the railing for balance as they made their way up the stairs. Sirius walked behind them with one hand hovering just behind Remus' back in case he pitched backwards. This was all part of the monthly routine.

Lily eagerly took in her husband's appearance. His friends had wrapped a cloak around him for modesty's sake. His head hung as if he didn't quite have the energy to hold it upright. He moved slowly, his limbs clearly stiff and not cooperating as well as he'd like. Even so, he made slow but steady progress up the stairs.

Lily knew from experience that crowding the stairwell would not be helpful, so she stilled herself at the top of the stairs. As the group finally reached the main level, Remus' head lifted, instinctually looking for his wife. Lily easily slid into his line of vision as she smiled, reveling in seeing him whole once again. Remus returned her smile as much as he could, but he was wincing and his breathing was labored.

"Welcome back," Lily told him gently, reaching out to gently touch his arm.

There wasn't time for more words. James supported Remus as they made their way into the sitting room. Working together both he and Sirius lowered Remus to lie on the couch. They quickly moved out of the way so that Lily could kneel down next to him.

"What hurts?" she asked, getting right down to business.

It was James who listed off Remus' injuries, having already catalogued them before they moved him. Thankfully it was mostly just cuts and bruises this month, something Lily was well practiced in putting right. Still, transformations took a lot out of Remus and he was drifting in and out of consciousness as she worked.

"Are you two going to stay?" Lily asked after she had finished, standing to face the two that were hovering behind her.

James shook his head. "I want to get back and check in on Marlene," he said. He and Marlene had been dating for several months now. "She had surveillance duty last night and I want to make sure she got back okay. I want to see if I can get a hold of Peter, too. This is the second full moon in a row he's missed without saying anything. That's not like him."

Lily nodded. "Well, make sure you get some sleep too," she reminded him, knowing all too well that James was known for running himself ragged while trying to help out everyone around him. That boy would always have a bit of a savior complex.

James gave her a lopsided grin. "No worries," he assured her as he wrapped one arm around her and placed a brotherly peck on the top of her head. "I'll be by later to check on him." And, without another word, he took a step back and Apparated with a loud crack, causing Lily to jump in surprise.

"I hate it when he does that," she grumbled, her eyes wandering to Remus, thankful that the noise hadn't managed to wake him.

"He's just worried about Marlene doing surveillance without him last night," Sirius assured her. "It makes him nervous being away from her for too long. There's been too many casualties lately." He said the last part grimly and Lily knew there was too much truth to it. They were all holding their loved ones a little tighter lately.

"I appreciate you both being here with him during the full moons," Lily said. "I know it's not easy with everything else going on, but it makes things so much easier for him."

Sirius smiled. "Remus is our brother," he said. "We'd never abandon him."

He moved over to a nearby armchair and Lily noticed he was limping. "Are you hurt?" she questioned.

"I just twinged my knee a bit," Sirius said with a dismissive wave of his hand as he carefully sat down, relief overtaking his features as his weight was shifted off of his injury. "It's not Remus' fault. It hasn't been quite right since I had that run in with Bellatrix a few weeks ago."

Lily gave him a sympathetic look, but knew better than to make any further comments about his biological family, or how he should stay off the front lines when so many of the Death Eaters seemed to have a personal vendetta against him. She knew that he didn't want to hear any of that and it wasn't anything they hadn't discussed in the past.

Instead she turned her attention back to Remus, who seemed to be coming back around. He blinked up at her blearily and she caressed his cheek gently, guiding him slowly back to consciousness.

"One year ago today…" he said quietly.

Lily smiled. "Yes," she confirmed. "It is."

"I'm sorry I've ruined it," he mumbled.

But Lily shook her head. "Don't be silly," she reprimanded lightly. "Nothing could ever ruin the reminder of the day that I vowed to spend the rest of my life with the most wonderful man that I know." She leaned down and carefully placed a kiss on his cheek. "Happy anniversary, my love."


	8. First Child

**Author's Note:** Okay, so since I am physically unable to write a purely happy story, this chapter takes a left turn onto Depressing Angsty Street. Yes, I managed to do that with the "First Child" prompt, haha. Be warned, I am a mean and masochistic writer. Proceed with caution and be on the lookout for rampant feels!

* * *

 **Chapter Eight  
** **First Child**

The creaking of the staircase drew Remus' attention immediately. Even though the Wizarding War had been over for several months now, he found he was still sensitive to small noises, constantly feeling like he needed to be on alert for danger. It was a bit unnerving at times. He sometimes wondered if anything would ever really feel normal again. Or if they had redefined what normal meant.

"Is everything alright?" he asked as Lily appeared in the room, concerned by her reappearance after she had retired to bed hours ago.

"It seems the little one isn't quite ready for bed yet," Lily said, running a hand over her bulging stomach affectionately. "Little bugger started kicking as soon as I lay down."

Remus smiled at her as she sat down on the couch next to him. "It won't be much longer now," he reminded her as he folded the paper he had been perusing. "Then we'll have a screaming baby to keep us up at night instead."

Lily rolled her eyes as she playfully nudged him with her shoulder. "At least after I give birth I'll be able to hand off the little one to you while I finally get some sleep."

It was meant to be a joke, but Remus still felt overwhelmed by the idea of such a small, helpless creature in his care. He could only hope that the baby was born healthy and wasn't effected by his unfortunately condition. After all, not a whole lot was known about werewolf reproduction. Still he did his best to smile at his pregnant wife as he wound one arm around her. She had never once wavered in her devotion to him, and he fed off her confidence that they would have a perfectly healthy child.

"You know, we've barely discussed names," Lily went on, seemingly oblivious to his internal struggle. "It'll only be a few more weeks until we get to meet the little one. I'd like to have a few names picked out."

"Have you thought about what kind of names you like?" he asked carefully.

"I like the idea of keeping with the flower theme if it's a girl," Lily said with a smile. "Maybe something like Daisy or Rose. Or maybe even Primrose, I really like that."

Remus nodded. "Those all sound good to me," he said slowly.

Lily glanced at him. "I haven't been able to think of any for a boy though," she confessed. "Maybe we could name him after my father or your father?"

"Yes, we could do that," Remus said reservedly.

Lily looked up at him, meeting his eyes. She always had this way of making it seem like she knew exactly what was on his mind. She clearly knew that he was holding something back.

"Have you had any ideas?" she prompted.

Remus took a deep breath. "If… if it's a boy I wonder if we might name him after Sirius?" he said slowly, unsure of what her reaction would be to this idea.

Lily gave him a sad smile, instantly putting Remus more at ease. "I think that's a wonderful idea," she said gently. She paused for a moment, seeming to contemplate something carefully. "But have you talked this over with James? You know, if we all name our children after Sirius it's going to get awfully confusing."

Remus laughed lightly at that. "Don't worry, we wouldn't do that to you and Marlene," he promised her, referencing James' wife. "We decided whoever has a baby first gets first pick of names."

"And when did you two _men_ have time to have this discussion over baby names," Lily asked, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Because I think that's downright adorable."

Remus pretended to look offended at that. "It must have come up while we were… doing manly things. Drinking Firewhiskey. Scavenging for food. Building things with our bare hands."

At that, Lily laughed. "I'm very sorry to have brought your manhood into question." She leaned into Remus and he reflexively pulled her in close, finding comfort in the feel of her warmth against his side. When she spoke again her tone was more serious. "How is James doing?"

Remus sighed. "It depends on the day," he admitted. "Some days are better than others." James had taken what had happened especially hard. Not that it had been easy on any of them.

Lily nodded, not surprised by the answer. They were quiet for a minute before she spoke again. "I know you miss him, Remus," she said quietly, pained sincerity in her voice. It was clear that she wasn't taking about James anymore. "I miss him too."

Remus closed his eyes as if he were in physical pain. It had been almost six months since they had lost Sirius Black in the Wizarding War, but it was still a painfully horrific memory to recall. They had been betrayed by Peter Pettigrew, a man they had thought was their friend. He had tricked Sirius into a trap, handing him over to Sirius' sadistic cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix had brutally tortured him before killing him and dumping his body on the doorstep of one of the Order of the Phoenix's safe houses. Remus and James had been the ones to find him. Remus still had vivid nightmares about what had happened that would wake him in the middle of the night drenched in sweat with tears in his eyes.

It had been an absolutely devastating blow for their group. Ever since they had been boys at Hogwarts, the Marauders had tried to protect Sirius from his family. When the abuse he endured at home became apparent, they would spend weeks planning their summers, all their plans revolving around getting Sirius out of his home as much as possible over the three month break. It had been a relief when he had finally run away from home when he was sixteen, living with the Potters until they graduated from Hogwarts.

The relief hadn't lasted though. When they had joined the fight against Lord Voldemort, it had become painfully apparent that his Death Eater relatives targeted Sirius, seeing his involvement in the Order as a personal insult and shame to their family. There was no talking Sirius off being on the front lines though. This fight had just been just as personal for him.

They had tried so hard to protect him from his family. They hadn't even considered that they would have to protect him from a friend.

James and Remus had both gone after Peter after it became apparent what had happened, but it had taken weeks for them to finally track him down when he went into hiding as a rat. Even after Lord Voldemort was defeated by a mere baby – the Longbottoms' son – they had continued their search for the man who had taken away one of the people they had held most dear to them. Finally they had captured him, sending him away to rot in Azkaban for the rest of his life for what he had done.

Some days Remus wondered if the punishment was too good for him.

Remus was brought back to the present by a kiss on the cheek from his wife. He leaned into to the gesture, but found that it wasn't enough. He turned and pulled Lily up to him, meeting her lips with his and reveling in the way the rest of the world seemed to fade away, if only for a minute.

The war was over. The good guys had won. But some days it still felt like the cost was too high.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Yeah, so that happened. I'm not terribly happy about it either, but I feel like it had to be done. Just because Lily and James aren't together doesn't mean Peter doesn't still betray them. And without Harry Potter, Peter would have to do something else to prove his loyalty to Voldemort. This just made too much sense.


	9. A Family Outing

**Chapter Nine**

 **A Family Outing**

It was a cool autumn day. The sun was just peeking out from between the clouds, providing the group gathered a bit of warmth, causing them to loosen their cloaks. The one child among them that could walk had ditched his cloak altogether as he ran from one stone to another in some strange game that only he understood.

"Sirius Lyall Lupin, you get back over here," Lily called with exasperation as she watched her son testing his boundaries.

Young Sirius, now almost three years old with his father's sandy brown hair and his mother's green eyes, giggled as he tottered back in their general direction, though not going so far as to come all the way back to where the rest of them stood.

"You have my sympathy," Marlene said, looking over at Lily with a smile. "That boy lives up to his namesake."

"You have no idea," Lily said, rolling her eyes, though the smile never left her face. She shifted the infant she held a bit higher on her hip. "This one has been a breeze next to her brother." Primrose was almost a year old now, and had proven to be a much calmer child, a trait that Lily was certain she had inherited from Remus rather than her.

"This one hasn't caught on to the concept of sleeping at night," Marlene said, indicating the young infant that she cradled in her arms. Little Kit had been born only four months before, and motherhood had already caused weary lines in Marlene's features. "She takes after her daddy in that respect." She nodded over toward where her husband stood a dozen steps away.

After Lily and Marlene had paid their initial respects, they had stepped back with their children, in order to give their husbands a few minutes alone with the grave marker of their lost brother. It had been three years to the day since they had lost Sirius Black. Some days it felt like a lifetime ago and other days the wounds still felt fresh.

Lily studied Remus carefully, trying to gage his current condition from standing so long. She had been skeptical about him leaving the house today, it was only a few days since the last few moon. They had finally compromised when he had agreed to bring a cane with him. It was now clear that had been a good idea, as he was currently leaning on it heavily. His transformations had been especially difficult since Sirius had passed. James would still accompany him on occasion, but the most that he could do was reduce the self-inflicted injuries some while earning a few injuries of his own. He could never control the werewolf so completely on his own like him and their lost Marauder used to be able to.

"He's okay," Marlene said quietly, bringing Lily back out of her thoughts. As usual, her surrogate sister seemed to know exactly what was on her mind. "And anyway, you couldn't have talked him out of coming today."

"I know," Lily said, hugging little Primrose closer to her. "Nor would I really have wanted to. He needed this. It brings him comfort to pay his respects like this."

Lily had never been one for visiting the graves of the deceased. She found it to be a bit of a morbid practice. But she did understand that these visits meant a lot to both Remus and James. It was all they had left to feel close with Sirius again. It was also their way of proving that even in death, they still refused to abandon him. That was important to them after how he had been treated by his biological family while he had been alive.

"I'm still not used to there only being two Marauders left," Marlene said as her gaze turned back to the two men standing quietly over the grave marker. "I still expect Sirius to show up sometimes, laughing and carrying on like he always did."

Lily nodded. "Me too," she agreed, sadly. It wasn't fair that these brothers had been torn apart so violently. And, more than that, Lily missed her own brother. For Sirius had been as much a brother to her and Marlene as he had been to James and Remus. His death had been hard on all of them.

"Uncle James!" Little Sirius yelled as he ran back over to the group, effectively shattering the grimly quiet atmosphere that had descended over them.

Before Lily could call to her son and scold him for interrupting the peaceful reflection the men had been having, James had turned and scooped up the toddler as he ran to him, lifting him up high above his head as he grinned widely at the laughing child. Sirius kicked his feet in delight as he was lowered back down to rest naturally on James' hip. Remus looked on with tired amusement in his eyes.

"What is it, little guy?" James questioned, the amount of seriousness in his tone actually comical.

"I'm hungry!" Sirius declared.

"You're hungry?" James demanded, faking outrage. "Don't your mummy and daddy ever feed you?"

Sirius laughed as he shook his head.

Remus smiled, rolling his eyes at that. "You should have seen the breakfast Lily made for him this morning," he told James conversationally. "I swear, no amount of food is never enough for this child!"

James laughed. "He's a growing boy!" he pointed out as he bounced the child on his hip. "Which is good. We need him to grow up big and strong." He waved one hand over to where Lily and Marlene stood with Kit and Primrose. "The women outnumber us! They keep multiplying!"

Both Lily and Marlene laughed at that as they walked over to join their husbands.

"You do realize, you have something to do with that, dear," Marlene pointed out.

James narrowed his eyes at them. "You know, I'm not so sure that I do anymore," he said suspiciously.

Lily deliberately turned to Marlene. "I don't know how you live with him," she told him matter-of-factly, trying and failing to keep the amused smile off of her face.

Marlene glanced at her husband with an exaggerated sigh. "Well, he _is_ awfully cute…"

James opened his mouth to respond, but Remus reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention.

"Forget it, Prongs," he said lightly, laughter bubbling just under the surface. "It's a battle you'll never win."

"Because we're outnumbered," James said in a staged whisper, seemingly unaware that Sirius had crawled up in his arms and was now tugging on his unkempt hair.

Remus shook his head as he turned back toward Lily and Marlene. "Why don't we go back and have some lunch before Sirius starts eating James' hair."

"Yes, I think that's a good idea," Lily agreed. She stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her husband, leaning in to him. He automatically wrapped his free arm around both him and Primrose, pulling them in close to him so that he could plant a kiss on each of their heads. Lily smiled, the closeness to her husband forcefully driving out any sadness she had because what this day signified.

No more deliberation was needed. They all already knew the Apparate to Remus and Lily's home for lunch. It was already understood that James would Apparate with Sirius, as Remus wasn't up to Apparating much more than himself so soon after the full moon.

Life went on after wars ended. It had always been that way and it would always be that way. They would always miss those that they had lost, but they could always take comfort in those that were still here.

The Lupins and the Potters would always be close, to the point where they were basically considered one family by the people around them. They raised their kids together, they supported one another, they were as good as brothers and sisters to each other. It was bonds like this that had kept them going even in the face of a horrifically painful loss that had almost broken each of them in its own way.

Despite all of that, their lives were good. They had each other and they had their children who would only know love and affection and acceptance as they grew up. After everything they had been through, they felt like they could face anything as long as they had each other.


	10. First Grandchild

**Chapter Ten  
First Grandchild**

The full moon hung high in the clear sky, surrounded by more stars than one could even begin to count. It was a beautiful night, there was no denying that. A soft wind circulated the warm, summer air and the gentle crashing of waves could just be heard in the distance from the small cottage.

Lily Lupin had the window open as far as it could go, reveling in this soothing weather. She took comfort in the calmness of the night. It was the first clear night in weeks, a large storm front having just passed over the coast. It made the stillest seem all that much more peaceful. Lily took in a deep breath through her nose as she closed her eyes, the smell of saltwater riding in on the breeze. A small smile graced her lips.

"Are you still up?"

Lily's attention was drawn by the familiar voice. Marlene approached from the direction of one of the guest bedrooms, pulling a robe tightly around herself.

"I don't want to miss anything," Lily said with a smile.

Marlene laughed lightly as she took a seat next to her. "You know, it could be hours still."

Lily nodded, her eyes wandering back to the window. "I know," she said. "I hope it happens while the moon is still up though. It just seems so…" She searched for the right word, but these days her mind was more sluggish than it used to be.

"Fitting?" Marlene guessed.

Lily nodded. Even though she didn't think that was the exact word she had been looking for, it was close enough. "It seems like poetic justice that something good happens under the full moon." She sighed. "Anyway, I'm still not used to resting during the full moon. I don't think I ever really will be."

Marlene looked over at her and she was surprised to see admiration in her eyes. "I don't know how you do it, Lily," she said quietly.

"Life doesn't stop just because you lose someone you love," Lily pointed out, surprised by how calm her voice sounded. "We all learned that the hard way, remember?"

It had been years since the second rising of Lord Voldemort. In a way, it had hardly seemed fair to those left in their group. They had already fought a war and had already lost so much. But still, Lily and Remus stepped up along with James and Marlene, ready and willing to fight again. This time they weren't just fighting for each other though. This time they were fighting for their children. The stakes were higher and they were willing to sacrifice anything to keep their children safe.

It had been years since that final battle took place at Hogwarts, where their children went to school. Sirius had been a fourth year and Primrose and Kit had both been third years at the time. Without a second's hesitation, the parents had rushed to the school to protect their children. They had been tragically outnumbered. The hope for victory had seemed out of their reach. It was only by the miracle that was the Longbottom's child, Neville, that the Dark Lord was defeated once again, this time for good.

And once again there had been a price that often times felt too high.

It was a parent's job to protect their children. Lily never once regretted the decision to travel to the school to make sure her children stayed safe. She never once regretted the decision to fight against a man who would have made the world into a dangerous place for her children. That being said, she missed her husband with every fiber of her being every day that she had to live without him. But he had sacrificed his life in order to keep their children safe. Lily had been willing to do the same that day.

"Mum?"

Lily looked over to see her son making his way carefully down the stairs, a bundle of blankets cradled in his arms. Lily's eyes lit up at the sight and she was on her feet in a moment.

"Already?" she said surprised. Sirius' wife had only gone into labor a few hours before.

"Yeah, the little guy apparently just couldn't wait to be born," Sirius said with a proud smile. He had never looked more like his father than he did in that moment.

"It's a boy?" Lily asked, feeling her heart lifting up in her chest.

Sirius nodded. "And he'd like to say hi to his grandmother."

Lily had been jokingly fighting the term grandmother for nine months now, insisting the term made her seem too old. But in that moment, all of those thoughts were far from her mind. The term grandmother felt as comfortable as if she had been called that for years.

Lily carefully took the bundle being handed over to her by her son, naturally holding the newborn baby in the crook of her arm. Her smile only grew as she pulled back the blanket a bit to get a look at the baby's face. Curious eyes looked up at her, capturing her heart in a matter of seconds. She rocked the child gently as Marlene joined her, gazing down at their newest family member with almost as much love in her features as Lily.

"Have you named him yet?" Lily asked, glancing over at her grown son.

Sirius nodded. As he met Lily's gaze, his green eyes had an odd combination of happiness and sadness in them. "I thought we'd name him… Remus," he said softly.

Tears gathered in Lily's eyes. She couldn't be more proud of her son for wanting to keep with their tradition of remembering those that they had lost. She could think of no better way to honor her husband's memory. And she knew, deep down, that he was watching over them along with Sirius Black, smiling at this brand new life that they had brought into a safe world, proud of his sacrifice that made the world a better place for not only their children but their grandchild as well.

"Remus Lupin," she said quietly. Her tears didn't fall. Instead, she blinked as her vision cleared, feeling indescribable joy swelling up within her. "It's perfect."

 **The End**


End file.
